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CVS tobacco ban lauded

By Rick Sobey, rsobey@lowellsun.com

Updated:
02/10/2014 07:06:47 AM EST

This CVS in Park Hill Plaza in Fitchburg has not sold cigarettes for about two years. CVS has just recently decided to stop selling tobacco products and will do so later this year at all locations. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE / BRETT CRAWFORD

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CVS Pharmacy has come a long way from its days as the "Consumer Value Store" on Lowell's Merrimack Street in 1963, the first-ever location of the retail super giant.

Last Wednesday, the multibillion-dollar company announced it will be banning tobacco sales at all its U.S. locations, forfeiting about $2 billion a year in revenue. Area public-health advocates, chief medical officers and business analysts have been applauding CVS since its major decision, calling it a model for other stores to emulate.

"It's an extremely positive move for the country," said Dr. Kumble Rajesh, chief medical officer of the Lowell Community Health Center. "A very brave move being such a large chain, and I hope that other chains will pick up this message, and the population in general will take in this message that smoking is not a healthy behavior.

"This is absolutely the correct move by CVS," he added.

The Woonsocket, R.I.-based company announced on Wednesday that it will stop selling cigarettes and other tobacco products at its more than 7,600 CVS/pharmacy stores across the U.S. by Oct. 1, making CVS the first national pharmacy chain to take this step "in support of the health and well-being of its patients and customers."

Brennan, M.D., M.P.H. "Stopping the sale of cigarettes and tobacco will make a significant difference in reducing the chronic illnesses associated with tobacco use."

HealthAlliance Hospital's Chief Medical Officer Daniel O'Leary said the tobacco ban makes a strong statement. He emphasized it will "save a lot of lives" by making cigarettes less available and thereby preventing teenagers from picking up smoking.

The decision is a "huge victory for public health," according to Leland Ackerson, a UMass Lowell assistant professor of community health and sustainability. He also said it's a major opportunity for other companies, including Walgreens and Rite Aid, to follow the lead of CVS.

"It's an incentive for other stores," said Ackerson, who has studied cancer prevention. "Twenty years ago I never thought pharmacies would be changing like this, but it's great. Their job is to provide a healthy lifestyle for their customers, and this is a great change."

The CVS decision won't change things at many of its outlets in Massachusetts. That's because Boston, Worcester and dozens of other communities in the Bay State already have prohibitions on the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products at pharmacies.

Tami Gouveia, executive director of Tobacco Free Mass, said 80 municipalities have a tobacco ban at pharmacies. She hopes that the decision by CVS is the "tipping point" for state legislators to pass a tobacco ban bill for all pharmacies.

"Because we already did it in Fitchburg, CVS pulling out of tobacco sales isn't too much of a surprise to me," said Steve Curry, Fitchburg's board of health director. "The age-old adage is that pharmacies are there to provide methods of healing, and they're admitting that tobacco products are conducive to that."

Massachusetts Medical Society President Ronald Dunlap said in a statement that the announcement by CVS marks a "milestone in tobacco prevention efforts."

Some business experts believe CVS' decision will put enough pressure on other pharmacies to do the same. Ian Cross, director of Bentley University's Center for Marketing Technology, said Walgreens and Rite Aid will have to keep up with CVS' healthy message.

Despite the $2 billion annual loss in revenue, Cross said it was a "very smart and bold move."

"It shows a chief executive with a vision for the company, transforming it to a healthcare company," said Cross, who did marketing five years ago for an all-natural skin care product at CVS.

"The $2 billion seems like a lot, but they clearly have a plan to replace it with products that help people quit smoking. And it wouldn't surprise me to see healthier food products, like very healthy snack bars."

A Middlesex Community College economics professor said this move positions CVS to become the equivalent of a primary care provider. Robert Kaulfuss, also the social science department chair at MCC, said CVS is already getting there with flu shots and clinics, and banning tobacco products adds to CVS being a "front-line healthcare provider."

Unlike Cross, the Middlesex professor said that Walgreens and Rite Aid could view this decision as an opportunity to grab the CVS cigarette business.

"A lot will depend on it, so it's a wait-and-see situation right now," Kaulfuss said. "But I do like the idea that they're taking a positive step even if it risks losing business. A corporation that's being more socially responsible is something I applaud."

Kaulfuss predicted that CVS' stock could take a hit in the short run because of the tobacco ban.

"I think it sends a great message, putting the policy before profits," said Bill O'Brien, shopping at a Billerica CVS on Thursday. "I don't smoke, so it doesn't affect me. I just hope it works and can make people quit."

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